All Mixed Up
by ToujoursMiraculous
Summary: Ladybug turns Chat Noir down because there's someone else. Little does he know that 'someone else' is his civilian self. Ladybug would be with Chat Noir if that 'someone else' didn't exist. It seems the perfect solution to their troubles is a reveal, but what craziness will happen before that moment finally arrives? And is it really the perfect solution?
1. Misunderstanding

**AN: I found this written first bit of a fanfiction that I had written up a few months ago, left forgotten. Until my sister wanted me to find something else I had written for Miraculous, when I stumbled upon this again! She insisted that I post it, and work on it as an ongoing fanfic.  
If you agree with her, please let me know if you want me to continue it!**

~ToujoursMiraculous

* * *

The sun was setting over the City of Love. The sky a brilliant orange, illuminating everything the rays touched, saying goodbye until the morning. Chat Noir and Ladybug had just brought down yet another akuma, that was sent with the hope that this time, the Miraculous would finally end up in Hawk Moth's clutches. Unfortunately for Hawk Moth, this akuma was captured, and rather quickly, they had managed to do so without even using their powers.

"We have some time, don't we, Ladybug? I mean, neither of us have to rush off because of our Miraculous." Chat asked hopefully, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible.  
"I suppose we do..." she replied hesitantly.

Chat Noir was her partner, and her best friend. She knew Chat had feelings for her, but that didn't change how she felt about Adrien. She didn't want to hurt him, so all she could do is brush him off. Even that was becoming harder and harder to do these days, as he became more and more persistent.  
Nervously brushing his hand through his hair, he spoke.

"There's something I need to talk to you about. Something I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but things kept getting in the way..." Chat's voice trailed off. Ladybug glanced around nervously, blushing slightly. Thankfully, her mask hid most of the pink that tinted her cheeks.  
"What is it?" Ladybug asked, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Chat Noir took her hand in his, brushing the top of her hand gently with his thumb."I know you probably think I'm just a flirt, that I'm just having fun and playing games, not serious at all... but m'lady, I...I love you."

There it was, the words she knew it was coming someday. Yet, she realized at that moment, she would never actually be prepared to respond to them.

"Chat Noir, I-" she started, looking away from him, but Chat stopped her.

"You love someone." It wasn't a question.

"...Yes," she whispered after a moment.

"And he's not me?" Chat asked, barely audible.

"No, he's - he's not," Ladybug said, glancing down at her hand in his, then added, "he's someone I know... from school. I'm sorry, Chat. If there wasn't...if he didn't exist... I mean-"

"I get it," he said, trying to mask his pain. "If it weren't for this guy, then you'd give me a chance?"

"I'm sorry," Ladybug repeated quietly, on the verge of tears. She had no idea he cared for her this much, but she could see the pain in his eyes, the pain she put there.

"Don't worry, Bugaboo, I'll be okay," he said forcefully, his back towards her now. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" and with that, Chat bounded off of the windy rooftop, unable to hear Ladybug calling after him.

She was left on the roof, silent tears streaming down her face.

Chat flung into his bedroom window, becoming Adrien again.  
He felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest, and yet it was still in there, hammering away.

"Kid, are you okay?" Plagg asked, floating up to his face.  
Adrien just shook his head. "I'm going to take a shower," he said dully, and headed for the bathroom.

 _I wonder who he is_. Adrien thought to himself, as he turned on the water. _This guy...this guy she likes. Is he even good enough for her? Does he have feelings for her, too? Or will she end up feeling like I do now, because the feeling's not mutual?_ He didn't want Ladybug to feel the same kind of pain that he was feeling. It's not Ladybug's fault she loves someone else, but any guy would have to be crazy not to like her.

The next day in school, both Marinette and Adrien walked into class, looking particularly glum and run down. Nino and Alya took notice of their best friends' haggardness.

"Dude, what's wrong? Is it your dad?"

"Ah, no. It has nothing to do with that, I'm fine, really," Adrien said weakly, with the fake smile he sometimes used during photoshoots.  
Nino gave him a disapproving look, but left it alone.

"Seriously girl, what's wrong with you? You look like a wreck," Alya greeted Marinette just moments after Adrien sat down.

"I - I didn't sleep very well last night," Marinette admitted, yawning.

"That's as clear as day. Why couldn't you sleep?"

Every time Marinette tried to close her eyes, all she could see is the pained look in Chat's. Only, she couldn't share this with Alya, so she made up some fake fashion contest that she had stayed up super late fussing over instead.

Adrien was dreading the afternoon, and yet, he still had that familiar feeling of longing for it at the same time. He loved Ladybug, he loved saving Paris with her. No matter what, these things would never change. He wasn't going to let his time with her be ruined simply because for her, there was someone else. Chat Noir from now on would just be Ladybug's partner and friend, if she wanted.

"Marinette!" Alya said a bit too loudly, both Nino and Adrien turned around. Marinette had dozed off.

"What?! I'm up, I'm up..." she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning Marinette," Adrien greeted her cheerfully. For some reason, even with how badly he was feeling, something about her always brightened his mood, and sometimes brought out some of his 'Chat Noir' qualities. He wondered if Marinette noticed.

"M-m-morning, Adrien. H-how are you?" stuttered Marinette, her eyes wide.

"Good, I'm doing good," he answered, and when he said it, he really felt that he was. "Say, I was wondering...would you mind if I come over after school, possibly play a video game, or something?"

Marinette stared at him a moment, the only movement that came from her was her blinking. "You want to come over?" Marinette asked, bewildered.

"If you're busy or something, I totally understand, I just-"

"No, no! You could totally come over, I mean, if you want. Of course you do, you asked me if you could...I mean, but you don't have to, I was only...oh..." she groaned, hiding her face with her hands.

Adrien chuckled. "Is straight after school alright?"

That was perfect, patrol wasn't until 5.

"S-sure, you're perfect. I mean, THAT'S perfect!"

"Great, I'll walk with you then..."

"Okay..." she replied dreamily. Then it hit her. Her walls were plastered all over with his face. "Ahaha actually Adrien, I better go home first, make sure it's okay with my parents."

"Oh... alright. I'll just wait in front of the school for you then?"

"Sure!" she grinned down at him awkwardly until he turned around to face the front of the room.  
Alya gave her a wink and a thumbs up to show her approval.

And suddenly, Marinette couldn't wait for the school bell to ring.


	2. If You Give a Chat a Cookie

As soon as class was over for the day, Marinette ran as quickly as her feet could carry her out the door, nearly falling down the stairs, and ignored Alya when she tried to ask her what she was doing after school.  
Whenever Alya saw her best friend so frazzled, she knew only two things could be the culprit: Fashion or Adrien. Considering there wasn't a project or competition going on currently, she knew it must be the latter, and let her friend continue on.

Within moments of leaving school, Marinette burst in through the bakery doors, startling her parents and the two customers that were browsing the display cases.

"Where's the fire, Marinette?" her dad asked, chuckling slightly.

"Ahhh, um, sorry! I have to take care of something really quick!" she breezed passed them both, entering the door that led to their house.  
Marinette then backtracked when she realized she really did need to ask their permission if Adrien came over, though she was 99% sure they would say yes.  
Since he had come over to practice Ultimate Mecca Strike III for the school's competition, her parents had not stopped talking about Adrien.

 _"When will we see Adrien around again, Marinette?" her mom had asked her the day after their practice._

 _"He seems like a fine young man, he'd be a great son-in-law you know!" she overheard her papa boast just last week. She had no idea why her parents were even discussing Adrien in the first place._  
 _"Oh Tom, stop it! Don't be putting pressure on Marinette, she has enough of it as it is!" Sabine had scolded him._

 _=o=o=o=_

Marinette groaned as she opened the door to the bakery, and popped her head in.  
"Uhh, Mom, Dad, is it alright if Adrien comes over?" she asked hesitantly.

Tom and Sabine's faces lit up.  
"Of course it is, sweetie! What a nice surprise. Just make sure to remove the pictures of him that you have all over your wall before he gets here," her mom advised.

"Mom!" Marinette's face went red with embarrassment, causing her to shut the door much harder than she probably should have.  
She turned, rushing up the stairs, into their living room, and up the small white set that led her to her bedroom.

She let Tikki free from her little pink bag, who immediately aided her in removing her posters and pictures, stuffing them away in drawers.  
"Maybe it's time you took these down? If he's going to be coming over more frequently, maybe even unexpectedly, it would be a travesty if he happened to see them."

"You're right, Tikki," she agreed with a sigh, sitting in her desk chair. "That would be _way_ too embarrassing! He'd probably think I was a total stalker with all of these hanging up everywhere."  
The red bug Kwami stuffed a picture of him in a desk drawer. "Okay, last one! Go get him before he goes home!"

"Right, thanks Tikki!" she patted her on the head affectionately before barreling down the stairs.

She sprinted across the street, internally hoping that Adrien hadn't changed his mind and gone home. But just like he promised, he was waiting for her in front of the school.

"Is it cool with your parents that I come over?" he called over to her as she ran up.

"Yeah, totally cool! So uh, what do you want to do today?" Marinette's voice was much higher than normal, however around Adrien, this was considered very normal.

Adrien was thoughtful a moment, walking in pace with Marinette as they headed towards the bakery.  
"If it's alright with your parents, can we possibly bake some cookies?"

That threw Marinette off. She blinked, stopping in place.  
"You- you want to bake cookies?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah... If you don't want to though, that's cool," he looked down at the ground, he had sounded disappointed. Marinette frowned.

"No, no it's fine! It's just... don't take this the wrong way or anything, but... why do you want to bake cookies?"

Adrien sighed, putting a hand in his pocket.  
"When I was little, my mom and I used to make them together. It's been so long since then that I've forgotten how."

Marinette analyzed his face as he spoke, and the mention of his mom that he had made clear efforts in the past to avoid, pulled at her heart.

"What are we waiting for then, we've got some cookies to bake!" she exclaimed. Adrien's head shot up, his face beaming like a child's on Christmas morning.  
"You mean it?!"  
"Sure! What kind were you thinking of?"  
"My favorite cookie that we'd make together was uh... called snickerdoodles, I think?"

"Ohh, I've made those, they're delicious. Alright, snickerdoodles it is, then!"

"Really?! Awesome!"

They headed upstairs to use the kitchen in her house, as opposed to the one in her family's bakery, as it was being used.

"So, where do we start?" he asked her eagerly, rubbing his hands together. She was at the sink.  
"Wash your hands while I get out the ingredients and utensils we need."  
"Got it, boss!" he saluted, clearly teasing her.

She playfully rolled her eyes, and the familiarity struck her. This is exactly how Chat Noir would act in this situation. Marinette looked over at Adrien, and for a split second, wondered if he could be Chat Noir.  
 _Pfft, as if! Adrien could share some of the same qualities with Chat Noir without them actually having to be the same person. I'm just trying to make myself feel better about what happened with Chat last night, that's all._

Adrien turned the faucet off, and wiped his hands on a towel. "Okay, what's next?"  
"We preheat the oven," she pushed the button until the right temperature appeared on the little screen, and set it. "And put this on," she tossed him an apron before tying one around herself. "Wouldn't want to get your clothes messed up with cookie dough... We're going to measure out the sugar and vanilla extract and put it in this bowl," she pointed to a large bowl she had sitting on the counter. "We need 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Use these," she handed him a couple of blue dry measuring cups. "When you remove the cup from the bag of the ingredient you're measuring, instead of plopping it all in the bowl, use a knife to scrape off the excess ingredient. This way, it's more precise."

Adrien nodded, intently watching her demonstrate. "Now you try with the half cup."  
He reached his hand in the bag of sugar, and used the knife to flatten out the top.  
"Good. It's important you stick to the recipe at first, and not add too much or too little of an ingredient the first time as it can completely ruin the dish. However, definitely don't be afraid to make little adjustments or additions if you know how it can be improved."

After the sugar was in the bowl, she took one of the white measuring spoons, labeled '1 tsp', in one hand and a brown little bottle in the other.  
"We add one teaspoon of vanilla extract," she poured the amazingly fragrant brown liquid until it reached the top of the little plastic spoon, and added it to the sugar.  
"Next we need butter and eggs. A cup of butter, though we just need to put in two sticks since it's pre-measured," she handed him one of the butter sticks to unwrap, and they dropped them both in with the sugar and vanilla.

"And we have to crack open two eggs. Think you can handle that?" she teased, gesturing towards the two eggs sitting on the counter.

"Easy," he said confidently, almost cocky even, and grabbed one of the eggs, and with a bit too much force, whacked it against the edge of the bowl, causing half the contents of the egg and the shell to spill into the little bowl, the other half ending up on the counter. Marinette began to snicker, but stopped herself.

"Your technique is right, but you hit it too hard. Like this," she took the other egg, and gently, but forceful enough to break the shell, cracked it open, only the yolk falling into the bowl.

Adrien tried again with another egg, this time managing to get all of the egg in the bowl, and only a small piece of shell landed in.

"Good!" Marinette praised, reaching into the bowl to pull the little shell piece out. "Just make sure you don't leave these in. They'll add an extra crunch you don't want."  
He laughed, and watched her walk across the kitchen. She grabbed a hand mixer, and took it over to the bowl of ingredients they had measured out so far.  
"Turn this on and mix everything until it's well blended."  
"Okay," he turned the little machine on, the whisks spinning around. He wasn't prepared for the sudden force.  
Marinette held the bowl still for him while he mixed with the mixer.

"What's next?" he asked, setting down the mixer.  
"Measure 2 3/4 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar, a teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt, putting it all in this bowl."

Adrien wiped his forehead with his wrist, and focused on each measurement. He only made a mild mess when he knocked over the bag of flour.  
"Here's a _flour_ for you, Marinette!" he joked, looking pleased with himself. "I'll clean it up, don't worry," he added quickly, suddenly unsure of how she'd take it.  
Marinette giggled, "I got it, just measure."

"Let's mix this together a bit," she said after he was done, grabbing a spoon and stirred the dry ingredients together until she was satisfied. "Then we add this to the butter mixture. You'll need to use the mixer again."  
"Got it!" Adrien held up the mixer that was covered in the gooey and thick mixture, with a toothy grin spread across his face.  
Marinette playfully pushed him, laughing at his expression.

When that was done, Marinette took the bowl and stuffed it in the refrigerator. "That has to chill for about 10-15 minutes."

"What do we do while we wait?" he asked, sitting down on one of the stools.

"More measuring," she stated, motioning for him to come back into the kitchen. "3 tablespoons of sugar, and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon. Stir it together with a spoon, and then we just wait until the time's up."

"Simple enough. Go ahead and sit down, Marinette. I can handle it."

"Okay," she sat down, watching him put the sugar and cinnamon together in another bowl.  
"So..." she began awkwardly, hoping she wasn't asking anything too personal. "What made you want to make cookies today?"  
There was a beat of silence.  
"Any time I was feeling down, Mom would have me help her make a batch of cookies."

"Ahh..." she said. So he was feeling sad about something... she didn't want to pry, so she didn't ask why.

Once the dough was chilled enough, Marinette and Adrien rolled the dough into little balls, dipping them each in the sugar and cinnamon mixture, and set them on the cookie sheet.  
After they were in the oven, Adrien held up his hand for a high-five, but Marinette held out her hand for a fist bump.  
"Oh, ahaha right," she giggled nervously, and gave him a high-five.  
She walked over to the living room and sat on the couch, but Adrien remained standing in the kitchen.  
 _Her teasing, and then the fist bump... But she couldn't be Ladybug. I'm probably just looking into it too much. Ladybug just turned me down yesterday, I wouldn't doubt that I'm only noticing Ladybug-like traits in Marinette because it's what I want to see.  
_  
Shaking it off, Adrien joined Marinette in the living room, and leaned back on the couch. Standing in the kitchen all that time was tiring. He had no idea baking was such work. But it was fun, and satisfying.

The two teens talked about safe subjects, school and their mutual friends waiting for the 10 minutes to be up. Now that she wasn't occupied doing something else and solely focusing on Adrien's face, she couldn't help but trip over her words and babble away at him.

As soon as the timer went off, Adrien bolted out of his seat. He was very anxious to try their cookies.  
"Wait!" she shrieked, causing him to freeze in place. "Be careful when taking them out. It's easy to accidentally burn yourself... or well, maybe it's just because I'm really clumsy..."  
Adrien gave her a crooked smile, and slowly and carefully removed the cookie tray from the oven.

He stared at his beautiful creation, waiting for the moment they were cooled enough to pop one in his mouth. The aroma that filled the room was enough to make his mouth water.

The minutes were agony to Adrien, his stomach screaming at him to eat them.  
Marinette had placed them on cooling racks, and even though they were still too warm, he couldn't resist grabbing one.

His eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head when the cookie began coming apart across his tongue.  
"This... this is the best thing I've _ever_ had!"

Marinette watched him, looking happier than she's ever seen him. Who knew something as simple as making cookies would please him so much?  
"You can take some home if you want," she offered. But she knew the words he was going to say next. "My dad would make me throw them away. You should keep them."  
She nodded, "I'll bring one to school for you tomorrow."

"Thanks, you're the best!" he continued to happily munch on his cookie, Marinette's blush going unnoticed.  
When he reached for another cookie, he noticed the time.

"Oh no, I'm late! Sorry Marinette, I have to go..."

Marinette snapped out of her thoughts. "T-that's okay! It was fun. You know, making cookies..."

"Yeah, it was fun," he genuinely agreed, his crooked smile returning. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

He headed out her front door, but turned around and gave her a wave before he was out the door.

* * *

Patrol that night had been very quiet. Chat had been strangely polite, not that he wasn't before, but he wasn't being his boisterous self.  
She had tried bringing up what had happened a couple of times, but he brushed her attempts off.

When Marinette came back home, she felt the pang of guilt and pain she had the night before. She hated being the reason he wasn't being himself... She decided to head downstairs and grab a glass of milk and a plate of the cookies she had made that afternoon with Adrien. That _had_ to cheer her up.  
She brought it up on her balcony to enjoy as she stared up at the moon and stars.

After a few minutes, she heard a loud _thump_ , that caused her to jump.  
"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," she heard someone say. Then she saw the reflection of Chat's eyes.

"Chat Noir? What are you doing here?" she tried to make her tone curious, but instead she sounded startled, and maybe even irritated.

"I smelled the cookies, and I wondered where it would lead me. I'm not surprised it brought me here."

"Oh," was all she said, as she watched him a moment.

He walked towards her, "Mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all. Would you like a cookie, Chat?"

She saw his eyes glisten in the moonlight. He accepted it happily, and sat down next to Marinette's chair.  
"These are really good," he praised, most of the cookie gone already.

"A friend and I made them this afternoon. I'll have to tell him Chat Noir liked his baking."

"Him?"

"Yeah. He came over after school today, and we ended up making these. It was the last thing I expected to do since I'm always helping my parents bake, and it's not something I usually enjoy doing. His expression at the end was worth it, though," she confided, looking up at the moon as she spoke.

Chat looked over at her fondly, working on polishing off his second cookie. Her tone had caught his attention.

"Do you like this boy, _P_ _ur_ incess?"

"W-what? Why are you asking me that?!" Marinette jumped back, her eyes wide. She felt her face heat up. She hoped he wouldn't be able to see it with his exceptionally good vision.

Chat Noir only chuckled, feeling pleased by her reaction.

"I'm going in," she got up suddenly, and began to march towards her trap door.

"Marinette?" she felt him take her hand. She had forgotten the smooth, and cool feeling the material of his suit had. She didn't turn around, because she was sure her face was scarlet red at this point.  
"Thank you," he gave her hand a squeeze, and before she could turn around to say something, he was gone.

* * *

 **AN: This chapter is the result when you combine two of my favorite things. x3  
Will start working on the next chap ASAP if you guys show me your interest! I have 2 other fics I'm working on, and I'm trying to figure out which one I should give highest priority to for the time being. xD**

 **~ToujoursMiraculous**


	3. Superhero Talk

Marinette showed up for school the next day with a smile on her face, and an extra bag in hand.

Adrien was already sitting at his desk when she arrived, so she set the decorative little bag right in front of him, and headed behind him to her own.

He looked down at it with wonder, before he turned to speak to her.  
"You really brought me a cookie?"

She pointed towards the bag. "Take a look inside."

Adrien glanced over at Nino, who was resting his head on his hand, and shrugged at him. "You should see what she brought you, bud."

Eagerly, he opened the little bag and gasped when he saw all that was inside.  
She had stacked several of the cookies they made together, and threw in a croissant, two macarons, and two pastries that he was unfamiliar with.

"Whoa, thank you Marinette!" he beamed up at her. She shyly smiled back.

"I know you said not to, buuut you did make them, so it's only fair that you get to eat them. I also thought I'd throw in a few other things from the bakery. It's okay to indulge every once in awhile, you know?"

"That's true, and maybe I can stash them in my room without him knowing."

"You did a really good job, Chat Noir stopped by last night while I was eating them on the balcony and he loved them. I hope you don't mind that he had a couple."

Alya and Nino's heads shot to look at Marinette in amazement, but Adrien remained calm.

"Oh, did he? I don't mind, I'm glad he liked them," he smiled in a way Marinette hadn't seen him smile before, but she knew she had seen it on someone else ...

"You spent time with Chat Noir last night and didn't tell me?!" Alya cried in disbelief. She was only her best friend, and the one who ran the Ladyblog after all.

"I didn't mean to keep it from you Alya, I fell asleep right after he left and I just didn't think about it this morning," she shrugged. Adrien wasn't sure he liked that she was being so nonchalant about his visit. Did she really not care for Chat Noir either?

"I don't think we've talked about it before, but who's your favorite superhero: Ladybug or Chat Noir?" Nino asked, getting into the conversation. "Mine's Chat Noir, he's one cool dude."

Adrien's instinct told him to say thank you for the compliment, but thankfully his need to keep his identity a secret overshadowed his instilled need to be polite.

Alya laughed. "Do you even need to ask me? It's Ladybug, of course! How about you, Adrien? Who's your favorite?"

"Ladybug," he said without a second thought, a slight wistful sigh escaped his lips after he said her name.  
Marinette's eyes shot over to look at him. She knew he admired her somewhat, but he sounded almost as if he had feelings for her...  
Nino and Alya hadn't heard however, and said nothing about it.

"What about you, Marinette?" Adrien asked her. "Ladybug or Chat Noir?"

"Chat Noir," she replied almost as quickly as he had given his reply.

All three of her friends stared at her in surprise. Adrien seemed a bit more alert than he had been moments before.

"Chat Noir?" he asked. "I would've bet that you would've picked Ladybug, most people do. Why is he your favorite?"

They looked intently at her, which caused her to blush. "Ah, well, as great as Ladybug is, she wouldn't be able to save the city on a daily basis without him. He sacrifices himself for her whenever she's in danger. And... he's really sweet. He really doesn't get the credit and attention he deserves, but I for one can see how much he means to the city of Paris, and know we'd be in trouble without him."

Adrien marveled at her words.  
So she really did like Chat Noir. This news, along with her words made him extremely happy.

"Wow Marinette, I had no idea you saw Chat Noir that way."

"Ahh, I just... really don't think people give him enough credit, is all."

"Do you know him?" Nino asked her. "If he came by your place and had some cookies with you, surely you must know him."

"Not- not really. I did help him fight an akuma once," she leaned in towards her friends and whispered, "Nathaniel when he was Evillustrator."  
"And when Alya became Lady Wifi again because of Puppeteer, I explained to him the situation, and then there were a couple more instances where we spoke, but it's not like we're friends or anything," she laughed nervously at the end.

"From the sounds of it, he seems to like you. Promise me if you two start dating, you'll let me know, right?" Alya teased.

"Alya!" she whined in response. "He's a superhero and I'm - I'm, well I'm just me. There's no way, don't even joke. Besides, doesn't he seem to like Ladybug?"

"Of course, I was just teasing you. And hey, none of that! You're awesome girl. Chat Noir would be lucky to have you."

Marinette just stuck her tongue out at her playfully.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir really are perfect for each other, but I don't think Ladybug's realized it quite yet," Alya mumbled offhandedly while she got the contents of her bag out onto her desk to be ready when Ms. Bustier walked through the door.

Marinette and Adrien both stiffened in their seats. She glanced down at Adrien, and protested loudly in her head that she was wrong because Adrien was like the sun, something she could never be without.

He on the other hand was shouting in his head about finally somebody seeing what he had felt all along. She even knew that Ladybug just didn't realize that they were meant to be together, like he did.

"Sometimes people deny their feelings for someone, when that deserves a chance, just because they hold somebody else on such a high pedestal that they can't see what's actually right next to them," she added pointedly, looking particularly at Adrien when she said this. However, both of them took her words to heart.

"Okay class!" Ms. Bustier walked in then, hoping to bring the class to silence. "Please take out your homework from last night so we can go over it before we begin learning anything new."


	4. Chapter 4

Ladybug was resting atop of a building, one that was a typical meet-up spot with Chat Noir. She leaned against the wall, her legs crossed and her head tilted back, eyes closed.  
The air felt pleasant, a slight breeze brushing her face.

She thought over the conversation she had with her friends earlier that day. Maybe Alya was right. Ladybug knew she put Adrien above everything, but was her friend also right about Chat Noir, too?

So deep in thought, she hadn't heard Chat Noir land on the roof. What pulled her out of her thoughts was the familiar smell of warm croissants. Ladybug opened her eyes slightly to see Chat Noir standing there with a couple in hand.

"I stopped by the bakery to see a friend, but she wasn't home, so I picked up these instead."

Ladybug smiled. "A friend? You see your friends as Chat Noir?"

"N-no," he stuttered. "I just talk to her sometimes when I'm out and I see her on her balcony, that's all."

She didn't look convinced enough for his liking.

"She's just a friend."

"If she is in fact just a friend, Chaton, then why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous!" a blush crept onto his face.

Ladybug giggled. "Really? Because I know you, and I know you well enough to know that when you're nervous, your tail flicks around," she pointed behind him. "Also, you almost never blush."

Chat Noir stuffed one of the croissants in his mouth and chewed angrily.

"I don't understand why you're upset. Did I do something to make you mad?"

It took a few moments for him to swallow. "You didn't do anything, m'lady, I guess I'm just... mad at myself. A friend of mine said something earlier that got me thinking. That's why I went to see the girl from the bakery."

Ladybug looked into his eyes and saw that he seemed genuinely troubled. She knew she couldn't help him, but apparently Marinette could.

"I have some things to take care of, but why don't you stay out awhile? Maybe your friend will be back and you can talk to her?"

Chat only nodded. Ladybug reached out to give him a comforting pat on the shoulder, but when she realized what she was doing, she pulled her hand away and headed for home.

About five minutes after she landed on her balcony, Chat came by. Obviously not surprising to her.

"Hey Marinette," he greeted calmly, plopping down beside her. "I could really use some advice, and you're the person I feel I can come to the most, so I was wondering..." he hesitated.

Marinette smiled warmly at him. "Of course, I'd be honored to help out Paris's Chat Noir," she teased. "Seriously though, what's going on?"

Chat had that troubled look in his eyes again as he sat down on one of Marinette's lounge chairs. "I'm a terrible person," he announced glumly, running a clawed hand through his shaggy hair.

"What? Why would you say that?" Marinette sat on the floor of the balcony so she could see his face, her eyebrows furrowed.

Chat lifted his head to look out at the city a moment before turning his attention back to her.

"I have feelings for two girls."

Marinette's eyes widened with shock. Then a feeling of understanding settled in, and her body relaxed. She hadn't realized she had been so tense.

"One of them is Ladybug, but the other... do you know her well?"

Chat smiled slightly, but his eyes were downcast. "I know her very well, and that's my problem."

"How do you mean?"

"Back when it was just Ladybug, it was easy. I knew I just had to be patient with her, and someday things would work out, but then," he brushed his hair back with his hand again, letting out a sigh. "Then this girl started catching my attention."

Marinette was quiet for a moment.

"If you like this girl, then why not give her a chance? What's holding you back?"

Chat looked in her eyes for a split second before his darted away, desperate for something else to focus on. "Ladybug is. Or well, my feelings for her are. I keep thinking, keep hoping she'll someday want to be with me. Being with this other girl, it wouldn't be fair to her if Ladyb-"

"But she's special to you," Marinette cut in. "Don't you owe it to her and yourself to find out if you're supposed to be with her? Let her decide what she wants to do."

"You're right, " he admitted. "Thank you," he sucked in a deep breath. He hadn't realized that when he let his breath out, he forgot to inhale again.

"I should be the one thanking you," Marinette smiled. "I'm stuck in a similar situation and was wondering what to do myself. It looks like I should try to follow my own advice."

His eyes became slits, his body recoiled at her words. "Y-you like two people, too?!"

She nodded. "This guy I've liked almost since we met. And a guy who I started liking because like you with this girl you mentioned, he started catching my attention. They're so different, but it's the things they have in common that make me like them both. Something a friend of mine told me today really got me thinking, and after our talk, I think I know what I'm going to do now."

They sat in silence, hearing only the cars below.

"I should be going, it's been a long day. Thank you again, Marinette," he bowed and quickly left before she could say or do something that would make it difficult for him to leave her. He still wanted to think this through before making any decisions.

"You've made a decision, Marinette?" Tikki asked once she left Marinette's bag.

"I have. Like I told Chat, I owe it to him and myself to give him a chance."


End file.
